Prune

Hamilton’s East Village restaurant is renowned for its casual, idiosyncratic take on the French bistro—it is, in truth, a restaurant that simply serves food that Hamilton likes, and it turns out that a great many New Yorkers feel the same way.

After the sensation of her beautifully written memoir, Blood, Bones, & Butter, one might initially be disappointed to see that Hamilton’s first cookbook simply launches without introduction into recipes. But a few moments' browsing will reveal that while recipe headnotes are also missing, the chef’s handwritten comments on serving a dish hot, hot, hot or on treating a particular ingredient differently infuse the book with enormous personality.

Because it mimics the kitchen notebooks Hamilton has prepared for her cooks, Prune is not easily approachable by beginners, for instructions are terse and to the point, assuming familiarity with techniques and equipment. Which is not to say that having fallen under its spell, a novice might not learn a very great deal.

Color photographs throughout. Cloth.